1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to flashlights and auxiliary power packs, and more particularly to a flashlight and/or auxiliary power pack which accommodates therein a substantially flat battery either alone or in an expended film cartridge.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
The many uses of portable hand held flashlights have been well known virtually since the time the first practical portable dry cell was manufactured. Additionally, the desirability of using an auxiliary power pack to power battery operated devices is well known. For instance, various radios, televisions, tape recorders, and movie cameras, which are battery operated, have a provision wherein a connector is provided so that an auxiliary power pack can be hooked into their respective systems to provide greater battery capacity than that provided by the battery compliment incorporated integrally in these individual devices.
At a time when maximum utilization of available resources has become imperative, the present invention permits the tapping of a presently unexploited power source for use as an auxiliary power supply and/or for use in powering a flashlight. Specifically, this heretofore unused power source comprises the substantially flat batteries which are incorporated in instant picture film pack cartridges. These film pack cartridges, presently sold by the Polaroid Corporation, incorporate a plurality of self-developing photographic image rendering units which are exposed in a camera and are self developed when ejected therefrom and squeezed by rollers. The exposure and motor driven developing inducing mechanisms of these cameras are powered by a substantially flat battery also disposed in the film cartridge. In order to insure adequate shelf life of the flat battery and to accommodate the relatively heavy current drain of the motor of the developing inducing mechanism of these cameras, the batteries, known under the trademark Polapulse, are substantially over designed. Even after all the film units of a cartridge have been exhausted over a period of time, a substantial power capacity remains in these Polapulse batteries. Heretofore, this untapped energy supply has been discarded as useless. Through use of the present invention, the Polapulse battery can be accommodated so that it can provide additional useful life to the purchaser which, as a net result, will provide a savings to the user.
Although variously configured flashlights and auxiliary power packs are well known in the art, such apparatuses are not known which accommodate a substantially flat Polapulse battery either removed from the film cartridge usually associated therewith, or still disposed therein as taught by the present invention. Additionally, the present invention teaches an apparatus including a housing and a carrier configured to be disposed therein. The electrical components of the apparatus are entirely mounted on the carrier which also accommodates the battery so that the carrier and all the electrical components can be removed as a unit from the housing to facilitate servicing. Such a housing and carrier arrangement has not previously been known. Typically, items such as switches, connectors, and electrical lamps are mounted directly to an apparatus housing. Through employment of the configuration of the present invention, greater manufacturing flexibility is recognized since a single carrier assembly can be accommodated in a plurality of differently styled housings. As a result, great manufacturing economy is achieved and reduced production costs can be realized if variously styled or decorated housings are provided. For instance, a single carrier having electrical components preassembled, mounted, and wired thereon might be slipped into a plastic case, a leather case, or a cardboard case each having different applications without the requirement of separate tooling and assembly of each individual case and the attendant mounting of components directly to the case.